In the first fatality from Kerala, A 69-year old man who was admitted to the Kalamassery Medical College died on Saturday morning.
The man, a resident of Chullikal in Kochi, had returned from Dubai on March 16. His wife and driver too had tested positive and are being treated in the same hospital. The Kerala government has said that he was a high-risk patient who had a heart condition.
As per media reports, the man had shown mild symptoms upon his arrival and was asked to be in-home quarantine. On March 22, when his health deteriorated, he was shifted to the hospital. A few days ago, the man who reportedly also has a heart condition, was placed on a ventilator. On Saturday morning, he passed away.
He had shown symptoms of severe pneumonia and was admitted at the Ernakulam COVID treatment centre on March 22, said a note by Dr Fathahudeen, nodal officer of Ernakulam Medical College. He was under treatment for heart disease and high blood pressure. He had earlier gone through bypass surgery. The man was under ventilator support.
The body of the deceased was handed over to the relatives.
For the uninitiated, till Friday evening, Kerala had reported 176 cases, including 11 people who have recovered.
India has recorded 20 COVID-19 deaths. This includes one each in Delhi, Himachal, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, West Bengal and Jammu Kashmir, three each in Gujarat and Karnataka, two in Madhya Pradesh and five in Maharashtra.
